Pop & Pour: I really thought it tired. There was a bit of burnt rubber and swollen oxidation in the nose but within just a few minutes a spark ignited somewhere deep inside, and it tightened up, spiced up, and the fruit started morphing away from over-done and into brighter territory. Which is nice. Because naturally: wine like this comes with expectations–DESPITE it being probably the cheapest bottle from this vineyard ever sold. Black, impenetrable and staining, when you CAN catch some rays through it: a considerable ruddy brick. It’s still really chubby in the nose, and I’m guessing the sins are stemming from a fairly-manipulated wine produced in crowd-friendly manner at near-30 proof. I’m sorry, people: THESE WINES DON’T LAST. Thick and nasal-clogging, fruit a greasy jam of gorgeous contents. See what I did there? Read that again. I don’t like the concentration but I like the things concentrated. This is a serious distinction for people who have trouble reading my blog. A nearly unspeakable mélange of beauty in the nose: spicy gold-plated dirt; redwood-bough rosin bow; lanolin funk so buttery and slick; blackberry and fig drizzled with poivre blanc, amber varnish, baby powder and silk. but it’s showing some fatigue.
In the mouth: more quality clogging, although the rasp of tannin and considerable acid is a refreshing rub. The body of this wine is so thick, so unctuous, so difficult to swallow, so hard to process, it makes it nearly impossible to break down into bytes. It’s literally syrup–although a REALLY pretty one, don’t get me wrong! The kind of feathery nuances the berry tickle down your throat in the finish as structure screams and yells from above is nothing short of magical. There’s so much pith and anger in this wine, and yet: you want to nestle up in its curves and smile. Meaty and dense beyond comprehension, concentrated to levels nearly OD-producing, and from a greatly under-rated vintage: I’m torn if this wine has another decade on it. Even at these junctures, it’s easy to see why this vineyard is magical.
2009 PROVENANCE Cabernet Sauvignon Beckstoffer To Kalon Vyd Oakville Napa Valley 14.9
Stephen McConnell 